


A Second Chance

by petitecrivain



Category: Magical Diary (Visual Novels)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:00:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23508784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petitecrivain/pseuds/petitecrivain
Summary: A glimpse into Prof. H. Grabiner's thoughts and musings. Adventures, romance, and perils lie ahead for Hieronymous and his wife, Evie.
Relationships: Hieronymous Grabiner/Main Character
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

It was a beautiful summer morning at Iris Academy. The sun shined its warm rays on the grass, slowly evaporating the morning dew. The birds chirped away happily on oak trees, and the warm easterly breeze enveloped the branches shaking its green leaves. The usual hustle and bustle of the courtyard were replaced with a calm, serene aura that was almost solemn. A few upper-class students were strolling in the shadows of the courtyard, talking in a hushed, revered voice. Perhaps they were discussing their plans post-graduation, or more likely, they were discussing the trials and tribulations of their daily life.

Hieronymous Grabiner looked away from the window stretched his arms. Summer vacation was here, and he felt as if he could finally breathe without having to be bothered by those pesky students. While he enjoyed teaching the new generation of wizards and witches, it was nevertheless soul-draining and time-consuming. Every year reminded him all his failings as a wizard, and this year was no different. In fact, it was one of the most challenging years since Violet's passing. The forced marriage with a sophomore student due to his stupidity and carelessness caused him nothing but grief. He was humiliated in front of the entire school, and of course, Petunia did nothing but make the situation worse. He was sure that his father was somehow involved, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Hieronymous walked towards his small kitchen and put the kettle on. A nice cup of tea was in order to calm his nerves. He didn't often feel anxious, but today, he felt nervous. He picked up a book to distract himself, but soon, he drifted away in his own thoughts.

He hated that manus – or perhaps he hated himself. He couldn't remember why he decided to perform the experiment in that room rather than his room. He understood why Evie decided to "save" him, but nevertheless, the outcome wasn't what he expected. He was annoyed at the fact that his ritual came to a sharp end, especially when he was finally getting somewhere. Since that event, he had yet to re-enter the spirit realm. It was too risky.

Hieronymous tried his hardest to not let anyone into his life. He felt that this was the right thing to do never to let go of Violet. He almost felt obligated to stay as a bachelor. After all, they often talked about their future and their lives together. But now, six years later, he wasn't sure anymore. He was almost certain that there was no possible way to bring Violet back to the land of the living, and his memories of her were starting to face. He desperately tried to cling onto what he could remember of Violet., but even her face was starting to blur. You must let go of your past, Roni, his father would say. If only it were easier said than done…

Throughout the whole year, he pretended that the marriage didn't happen. It was easy at first. But of course, in due course, the whole student body found out. He still remembered that day clearly. The whole world went pitch black, and all he remembers is what Petunia told him later – he nearly killed that girl out of anger. He couldn't look Evie in the eye for weeks after that incident. Evie had been rather calm and collected towards this whole ordeal, attempting to comfort him in her own way where she could. He had started to look forward to her weekly mail deliveries, and his last interaction with her shook his emotions to the core. He still couldn't believe how impulsively he had acted, and just the thought of him kissing the girl made him blush. He felt ashamed yet excited; he didn't know what to make of the situation anymore.

But for now, it was over. Regretfully, she decided to go back home to her family. This was to be expected, but Hieronymous felt a tinge of sorrow as he saw her leave the school grounds. They were starting to get to know each other and he had started to open himself up to her. She almost sounded like she cared for him, and he was starting to care for her as well.

The sharp whistle of the kettle brought him back to the reality. He was letting his emotions run wild, and this wasn't like him. He decided go for a brisk walk. It always helped him to clear his thoughts, and he was in desperate need of change in scenery. He took his trusted dark brown hat and closed the door behind him quietly.

* * *

The walk in the enchanted forest was uneventful. Hieronymous decided to have a couple of days off from work to process his thoughts and to tidy his lodge up. He had some letters to correspond to and books to write, but all that could wait till next week. He would perhaps travel to his favourite district for a couple of things. Alasdair's knickknacks were always interesting, and he may have brought some more crystals for him from the otherworld. As he walked back to his room, a familiar voice called out to him from behind.

"Hieronymous!"

Hieronymous stopped mid gait. There was no way that could be…

"Hieronymous! Can you hear me? Gosh, I should've taken more attention in my white magic class…" Evie's voice ringed through his head loud and clear. He didn't know what to do. He ran back to his room, locked the door behind him, and cleared his throat. Did he make contact with her by accident? He wasn't sure.

"M..miss Astor. I'm surprised. How did you manage to reach me through Farspeak?" Hieronymous stammered. He was sweating.

"Potsdam told me how to increase my white magic to reach out to you. Now that we have shared a physical connection, it's much easier to find you." Evie replied, laughing. She was surprised that he replied. The truth of the matter was, she was bored and wanted to get away from her family for a while.

"Right. Of course, it was her." Hieronymous sighed. He was sick and tired of Petunia meddling in his business. What else did she instruct Evie about? Why was Evie reaching out to him? Was something…

"Sorry for randomly reaching out to you. I wanted to try it out before I forgot the spell." Evie said as if she read his mind. "Are you busy?"

"No. Not busy. Is there something I can do for you?" Hieronymous winced as he said the last sentence. Why couldn't he interact like a normal person?

"Um… no, not really. Well… things aren't going well with my family. I've told you this before I think. They have no idea of Iris academy nor magic, and I'm having to lie about what I am doing. Just before, I accidentally talked about the exam… and I had to try my hardest not to talk about dungeons and magic… It's getting harder and harder for me to talk to them as I have to watch every word that comes out of my mouth. I should've listened to Potsdam and stayed over summer. I guess it's too late, though now. On top of that, all my childhood friends have now moved on to high school, and they all have their own lives… I almost feel like I'm out of place." Evie replied with a tinge of sorrow in her voice. Hieronymous understood her emotions. Wildseeds often felt this way, and it was to be expected. Unbeknownst to Evie, this was another choice she would have to make before graduation. Give up magic or give up her family. He didn't know what to say back to her.

Evie's voice brought Hieronymous back to reality.

"Uh… are you there? Did I lose connection? Damn…" Hieronymous chuckled. It was so like Evie to blame herself.

"My apologies… I was listening. You, you could always come back to the academy." Hieronymous managed to squeeze out his voice through his heart. There was a long pause, and Hieronymous wondered whether he had scared her away. God dammit! He thought. You imbecile…

"Really?" Evie's excitement made Hieronymous nearly jump out of his skin. "Really really? But how?" Hieronymous sighed.

"I will talk to Professor Potsdam. I'm sure something can be arranged. This is normal for most wildseeds." Hieronymous answered with a tinge of happiness in his voice. He may get to spend some time with her, after all. He stood up to straighten his robes. "I will let you know of the outcome." Hieronymous started to walk towards the door.

"Okay. Sounds good. I'll be waiting to hear back!" Evie replied, and Hieronymous couldn't hear her voice anymore. He sighed. Today was going to be a long day. So much for tidying his room.

* * *

Petunia was relatively easy to find. She was amongst the greenhouses, tending to one of her strange plants. Hieronymous cleared his throat, and she turned around with a beam of a smile.

"Hieronymous! I didn't know you took up gardening!" Hieronymous furrowed his brows. Petunia was acting silly, yet again. It wasn't his place to judge her behaviours, however.

"I hate gardening. Gardening aside, Miss Astor contacted me. I was surprised that she was able to control her magic to such a degree." Hieronymous said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Petunia laughed. She was used to his mannerism, and it didn't bother her in the slightest.

" _Mrs Grabiner,_ Hieronymous. She is a brilliant student, you know." Her eyes twinkled in the shade of violet as she looked at Hieronymous. "What did she say?"

"She… is having trouble at home. She requested to stay here at the academy over the summer break." Hieronymous stammered. He was blushing. Petunia put her watering can down and looked at the shell of the man Infront of her. Yes. She could feel his magic moving around him in a vibrant shade of orange. This was a good sign. It was the first time she had seen him like this, and it was reassuring.

"Well, you know the protocol. Why did you need to come and see me?" Petunia asked as she walked towards the next plant. Hieronymous didn't know what to say. He did know the protocol, but he didn't know what to do.

"Because…. Of the situation. Isn't it a breach of magical laws here? Shouldn't you do it?" Petunia laughed.

"My dear, you are one of the professors of the academy! You must protect your students first and foremost and provide them support when they need it. Besides, being married is a small technicality." No reply came from Hieronymous. Petunia tended the plants in front of her before continuing.

"A simple teleportation magic will do. You could make use of that manus while you're at it! I will take care of her family while you do that." Petunia stopped mid-sentence as if to give herself a moment to think. "… and Hieronymous, you may wish to discuss the next choice she has to make though. It may be beneficial for her to know this now rather than later. It will cause fewer heartbreaks later." Petunia paused briefly and looked Hieronymous in the eye. "You know what I mean."

Hieronymous nodded. He shifted his feet uncomfortably. He usually didn't have problem with discussing this matter with wildseeds, but Evie was different. After all that has happened to her, he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news.

Petunia finished tending her deadly horns and took her gloves off. She enjoyed gardening, even if it meant her hands got a little dirty. There was no response from Hieronymous, and Petunia could only but guess what was going through his head.

"Miss Middleton is also returning to the academy, so perhaps you could have the conversation with both of them. It might be easier that way." Petunia smiled warmly and put a hand on Hieronymous' shoulder. "It will be fine. You have done this many, many times."

Hieronymous didn't reply. Instead, he turned around and walked towards the exit. The sun was getting stronger and he was starting to get uncomfortable.

"I'll get everything ready."

With that, Hieronymous was gone. Darkness came over Petunia's face momentarily. She was worried about him, but there was nothing she could do. She looked up to the sky and sighed. _I hope this works out for him. For his sake, and Violet's sake._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the late post. Life has been crazy in the midst of this COVID19 pandemic. I hope you enjoy the next chapter - again, thanks to those who have given me comments and feedback!

Hieronymous furrowed his brows as he walked back to his room. He was reluctant to use the manus to retrieve Evie, but Petunia was right. That was the quickest, possibly the safest way to bring her back to the academy. His last trip to England drained his mana substantially and thus he was in no fit state to cast a long-distance teleportation spell. He could fly to retrieve her, but his broom wasn't sturdy enough to carry two people. Driving was out of the question – last time he drove, he nearly killed himself.

While a pact between a familiar and its mage couldn't be broken without a dissolution, just how strong the bond between the two came down to the individual mage's capability. So far, Hieronymous couldn't strengthen the bond between himself and the manus no matter what he tried. Perhaps it was his distrust of those from the spirit realm, or perhaps he was a lousy mage. Nevertheless, it had been nearly a year since the pact was made, and he didn't feel a connection like he did with his previous familiar. He knew that the manus wouldn't hurt Evie, but it was that cloud of doubt he couldn't shake off.

He sighed as he closed the door behind him softly. He knew better than anyone else that beings from the otherworld were mischievous and at times, deadly. However, as it was from the otherworld, it was the only being that he could trust to protect Evie from those who wanted to drain her of her life force. With a look of determination on his face, Hieronymous muttered the summoning chant.

_Undying flame, blue haze, lend me thy hand._

_Summon forth those who are bonded by my blood._

Slowly, Hieronymous could see a blue smoke taking a form of his manus.

"You've finally decided to call upon me." The manus spoke slowly with a deep voice. Hieronymous didn't reply. They hadn't been on the best terms since the disruption of the last ritual. "What will it be this time? We can carry on the unbinding ritual if you'd like." Hieronymous looked at the manus sharply with a look of exasperation.

"You know that it wasn't my fault, Eldrid," Hieronymous replied as he glared at the manus. Eldrid scoffed as he moved closer to Hieronymous.

"Of course it was. You knew what we were doing wasn't right. I was nearly kicked out of the underworld! If it weren't for your father, both you and I wouldn't be here right now. Hades won't be so lenient this time around. He will force the unbinding ritual upon both of us if you are not careful." Eldrid hissed back. Hieronymous didn't reply. The ritual itself was frowned upon even in Hieronymous' world, and he was well aware of the consequences. They had attempted to bring back a departed soul from the underworld, and of course, didn't succeed. If it hadn't been for Evie's interruption, he was sure that his existence would've been erased by now from the present.

"I'm sorry." Hieronymous replied back without looking at Eldrid's face. He started to regret his decision to enlist his help. He knew that his behaviour had caused it a lot of trouble for him, but he was too proud to apologise. An uncomfortable silence between the familiar and its mage followed for what it seemed like an eternity.

Eldrid sighed as he ran his hands across his forehead. He couldn't believe that he had to be stuck with this idiot of a mage.

"Anyway. Why did you call me?" Eldrid asked cautiously. "If you are asking me to do something that is against the law of nature, I'm out." Hieronymous turned his head sharply and shook his hands in front of Eldrid.

"No, no, no. I've learnt my lesson. I have more pressing issues at hand to deal with anyway. I need your help." Eldrid raised his thick blue eyebrows at Hieronymous but didn't say a word. Hieronymous continued.

"Do you remember the girl that entered our circle and broke the ritual?" Eldrid nodded as the corner of his mouth curled into what resembled a smile.

"You mean your wife? What about that brat?" Hieronymous' face flushed for a moment, and Eldrid laughed.

"I need you to bring her back to me." Hieronymous managed to squeeze out the last sentence with great difficulty. Eldrid didn't reply. Instead, he scanned the mage's face with great interest. He remembered what Hades had said to him about this girl but decided not to mention it to the mage for the time being. Besides, it wasn't his place to bring up such information.

"That's it? That's easy. Why can't you do it?" Eldrid replied as he laughed. His laugh resonated through Hieronymous' bones. Hieronymous felt a tinge of mockery in the manus' voice but didn't react to it.

"You know why." Hieronymous replied curtly as he looked away. He couldn't believe how difficult his familiar was being. Why couldn't he carry out a simple task without having an argument?

The manus laughed again and moved closer to the mage's face.

"Fine. You better promise me something, though." Hieronymous looked up as the manus moved closer into his personal space. He felt uncomfortable. Eldrid continued. "Do not ever attempt what you did again. Ever. You must promise me this." Hieronymous gulped and nodded. He knew that Eldrid was serious.

"I swear by the sacred blood that runs through my family's vein." Hieronymous replied softly.

"Good. Now, you sit tight here while I fetch your missus. You might wish to tidy up your room, though. What a mess." With that, Eldrid was gone. Hieronymous stood in the middle of the room in a state of shock, before collapsing into the nearest chair he could find. _So everyone else noticed._ Hieronymous thought as he closed his eyes. _Damn. I thought I had put warding spells in place. I better watch my steps for a while._ With that thought, he collapsed into a slumber before he could stop himself.

* * *

Evie sat in her room as she twiddled the locket Potsdam had given her. She couldn't believe how it augmented her magic – she was able to farspeak with Hieronymous. She always felt that Potsdam had ulterior motives, but as Ellen said, it wasn't always the bad thing. She did try to help her to get along with him after all. She wondered how he was going to get her back to the academy. Was he going to turn up at their doorstep? Or, would he use a teleportation spell?

As she was deep in thought, she didn't notice a blue haze forming in the far corner of her room.

"Mrs Grabiner." Evie nearly jumped out of the skin as she looked around. No-one in her family would call her by that name, and she didn't see anyone come into the room. As her panic subdued, she saw a blue thing staring back at her, and her heart sank.

"Y, you…" Evie stammered as she tried to compose herself. "What are you doing here?" Evie fumbled around to find her wand, but she couldn't find it. _Dammit, where did I put it?_

The manus chuckled as he crossed his arms. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here under the order of the mage Grabiner. He wants you back at the academy." Evie's blue eyes widened. _Hieronymous sent that thing? Did he forget what happened last time?_ The manus laughed again as he extended his arm.

"I can't hurt you if you remember from last time. You are of the house of Grabiner, and I can't lay my hands on those to belong to the household. Come. Let's go. He is waiting for you eagerly." Evie looked at the manus with a dumbfound expression, before bursting into laughter.

"What? He's waiting for me eagerly? I don't think so. That's not like him! I don't believe you. I need to speak to him. I need to talk to my parents and tell them I am…" The manus put his hands on her mouth, and suddenly, Evie couldn't move. Evie's heart dropped. She had let her guard down for a moment, and now, she was trapped. She didn't have time to struggle, however, as it started to put a binding spell on her.

"You humans talk too much. I don't have time for this. Let's go." With that, Evie 's arms went limp, and the blue smoke disappeared as quickly as it appeared. The only thing that was left behind was a mark on her bed where she was sitting.

* * *

Hieronymous opened his eyes to a huge thud. He couldn't believe that he had fallen asleep. As he rubbed his eyes, they focused on a limp body and a blue haze. He stood up quickly and blinked his eyes several times. The manus was back, but with a limp body. It was Evie.

"What have you done?!" Hieronymous' face became dark with anger. "I told you to bring her to me alive, not dead. What have you done?!" He rushed to the girl's side and checked for signs of vitality. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw her chests rising and falling. It was only an enchantment that would wear off fairly quickly. He stood up and faced the manus angrily with his fists in the air.

"You know why I had to do it." Eldrid replied curtly. "This was the best way to mask her magical signature." Hieronymous didn't reply, but his lips quivered. Eldrid continued. "I was being followed, and I had to do what I had to do."

Hieronymous' eyes widened as colour returned to his face. He lowered his fists as he sat on the bed. "You were followed? By what?" Eldrid didn't reply but looked towards the window. Indeed, he could see some dark shadows lurking on the protective borders of the academy.

'What is that?" Hieronymous whispered. Eldrid sighed as he sat next to Hieronymous.

"They are the underlings of the demon prince. This girl must've had some sort of a connection with the demon prince for them to follow. I don't know how or why, but I kept my promise. You better watch out for her, though, Hieronymous. These creatures are no match for a single mage." Eldrid replied. Hieronymous sighed. He knew what Eldrid was referring to. In some ways, the union between him and Evie was fortuitous. It stopped the demon prince from taking her soul, or worse, taking part of her life force, but anyone who had ever been entwined in the demon's presence was an easy target for other creatures of the dark. At that moment, he was thankful for Eldrid's quick action.

"Eldrid… I… thank you." Hieronymous muttered softly. Eldrid looked at him with slight amusement but didn't reply. That was a step in the right direction, and that's all it mattered.

"You better tidy up this room if you don't want your missus cracking it. You humans, are so filthy." With that, manus disappeared into the haze it came from. Hieronymous looked out the window with a concerned look before drawing the curtains. He had to speak to his father. He needed his guidance. With quivering hands, he sat on his desk and started to write a letter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next instalment of Prof H. Grabiner's musings! Thank you all for your kind feedback :). Enjoy!

Petunia stood next to her window with a worrying gaze into the distance as the wardens of the Iris Academy fended off creatures of the dark. She could see the outline of Hieronymous’ manus bringing back a limp body through one of the gates. One of the creatures nearly got hold of the body, but the wardens were able to close the gate in time. Her brows furrowed deeply as she thought back to the incident that had shaken the Academy to its core this year.

When Damien the demon prince turned up at the gates of the Academy, she immediately knew that he wasn’t from this world. Her gut-instinct told her to turn him away, but her motherly instinct got the better of her. He appeared as a young, eager student, and despite Hieronymous’ and other professors’ protest, she had let him into the Academy. There were plenty of warning signs and alarm bells throughout the years, but every single time, she allowed him to stay at the Academy. While Petunia never told this to another living soul, Damien reminded her of her own lost son, and this clouded her judgement. Ultimately, her decision, or lack of, had resulted in a loss of life in the Academy, and she knew better than anyone else that her blood, in part, was on her hands. Fortunately for the Academy, the student was of wildseed origin, and it was easy enough to alter her family’s memories. The council of magic demanded quick action, and that was the best she could do at the time. Hieronymous argued bitterly with her, but at the end, as the headmistress of the Academy, she had the final say in the matter. Students who were involved in the incident moved on, and the whole incident was swept under the rug.

Petunia sighed as she drew her curtains and walked towards the fireplace. She knew that Hieronymous didn’t forgive her for her actions and was rather surprised when he came down to speak with her earlier today. She didn’t hold any grudge against him – there was no way that he could understand the pain of losing one’s child. To some, loss of a child caused damaged far beyond what this world’s healing magic was capable of, and Petunia felt that erasing the memory was a kinder option. After what she had been through, Petunia wasn’t going to allow that to happen to anyone else. She knew far too well of the pain and suffering that followed the loss.

“Enough.” Petunia said out loud in a stern voice, almost to stop her thoughts from spiralling. She wasn’t the one to dwell on her life decisions, however painful memories that surfaced caused her heart to ache in ways she couldn’t comprehend. She stumbled towards the sofa and sat down. The fire was burning vigorously, and it calmed her thoughts down. As she watched the fire, Petunia wondered why those creatures were chasing Evie. As far as she knew, Damien hadn’t touched any of this year’s first years – but she wasn’t certain.

 _Petunia –_ Her thoughts were interrupted by Hieronymous’ gruff yet panicked voice. Her heart sank. Did those creatures harm her?

 _Hieronymous! Is she safe?_ Petunia replied. There was a long pause before she could hear Hieronymous’ voice through gritted teeth.

 _Could I please get some help to get the girl back into her dormitory? I also need to speak to you urgently about the creatures outside the Academy’s boarder._ Hieronymous replied with a controlled yet panicked voice. Petunia laughed. He was still a man-child, and she couldn’t help herself but find the situation amusing.

 _Yes, of course. I think we should wait until she wakes up. I will be there soon._ With that, Petunia stood up and put her coat on. She had several matters to discuss with Hieronymous.

* * *

Evie was flying. She was flying through the clouds without her broom or her wand. It felt so liberating yet terrifying. As she looked around her surroundings, she could see the silhouette of the Academy in the distance. Her heart skipped a beat with joy. This is where she belonged, and this was the place where she felt most comfortable. She wondered if Ellen and Virginia were back already from their respective holidays. They were her two closest friends and her roommates, and one of very few who understood her well. _One of the very few…_ Her thought drifted towards Hieronymous as she thought of people in the Academy. She wondered if he would be happy to see her. Their last interaction before the summer break gave her hope, but she knew that she hadn’t completely broken through his guard.

As she continued to look around, her heart sank. Several dark shadows could be seen amongst the clouds, and it gave her chills through her spine. She didn’t know what they were, but they terrified her. She knew that they were chasing her, and she tried her hardest to go faster to enter the Academy’s ground. Unfortunately, the creatures were moving much faster than she ever could. Before she knew it, one of them appeared directly behind her heels. She tried to get away as she felt a cold hand grabbing her ankle. She screamed and kicked her legs, but the grip was too strong. She felt helpless – she could just see the gate of the Academy within her grasp, but the creature was strong and was pulling her towards it. _Hieronymous! Someone! Help!_ She screamed as she tried in vain to getaway. She could almost feel the creature’s breath as she struggled with all her might to loosen the grip. _This is the end, she thought,_ as she screamed in vain.

Evie opened her eyes and sat up on the bed with beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She was on her bed, and it was only a bad dream. She sighed a breath of relief as she turned her head slowly. Something wasn’t right. This wasn’t her bed, and this wasn’t her room. She was utterly confused about where she was. The last thing she remembered was being in her room, trying to use her white magic to talk to Hieronymous. She could hear voices murmuring softly, but couldn’t recognise them. Panic returned to her with a vengeance as she started to remember what had happened. The manus that nearly killed Hieronymous appeared in her bedroom, and… she didn’t know what happened next.

As she was trying to make sense of the situation, she heard a familiar voice. 

“You are up.” Evie turned her head sharply to see Hieronymous next to her with a cup of tea in his hands. She didn’t know what to say. She was either delirious or was in serious trouble to have Hieronymous next to her. Hieronymous sighed as he sat down on the chair next to the bed.

“My… sincerest apologies towards Eldrid’s behaviour. There were complications and he did what was best for the situation.” Hieronymous stopped mid-sentence. What was he saying? He searched Evie’s face for an emotion, but she only returned a look of bewilderment. He cleared his throat and continued speaking.

“Eldrid is my familiar – the manus – “ His sentence was cut off prematurely by Evie, who had now regained her ability to speak.

“I know that manus. Is he your familiar? That manus tried to kill both you and me before! Are you crazy? He came into my bedroom without any permissions, and he kidnapped me!” Evie couldn’t help but shout. Hieronymous opened his mouth to refute, but couldn’t find words to explain the situation to her. Evie was right. He should’ve at least explained the situation to her while Eldrid was on his way.

“…I’m sorry.” Hieronymous said softly. Evie didn’t reply. She didn’t know what to think of the situation, nor understand why she was in his room. Instead, she jumped off the bed and started to walk towards the door. She wanted to return to her dormitory to clear her head.

“Evie! Why don’t you stay for tea before you return to your dormitory? I have some nice biscuits here for us to share.” Petunia’s voice made Evie stop mid-gait. _What was Potsdam doing here?_ Evie thought. _Am I getting expelled?_ Evie turned around slowly to see Petunia’s friendly face and sighed a breath of relief.

“Come and sit over here deary. Why don’t you have that cup of tea Hieronymous made for you?” Petunia smiled as she beckoned Evie to sit next to her. Evie sighed and complied begrudgingly. She knew better than anyone to not upset Potsdam. She took the cup off Hieronymous but didn’t look him in the eyes. She was still angry with him. Petunia laughed. It was so refreshing to see a young couple acting like children. She asked about Evie’s family and how she had been doing during her summer break. Evie soon relaxed and started to chat, and before long, she was laughing and smiling. Petunia decided to ask her about Damien.

“Evie, do you remember Mr Ramsey?” Petunia asked cautiously. Evie nodded while nibbling on her fourth biscuit. “Were you friends with him?”

“Yes and no. I wouldn’t call him my friend, but he used to try to talk to me in the corridors. William chased him away a couple of times, but he was always very nice to me. He even gave me a flower he handmade for Christmas. He stopped talking to me after the … well … the incident.” Both Petunia and Hieronymous looked at each other and put their cups down on the table. Hieronymous’ face hardened as he stared at Evie intensely.

“Do you still have it?” Petunia asked with a slight quiver in her voice. She wondered how many of these _gifts_ Damien had given out to students. Evie nodded and rummaged around her enchanted pouch.

“Here it is.” Evie said as she put the flower on the table.

Petunia and Hieronymous jumped up from their seats and took a step back. There was no doubt about it – it was one of those devices. Hieronymous cursed under his breath and started to chant something that Evie couldn’t understand. The flower started to heat up, and within seconds, it burst into flames.

“W…what have you…” Evie stammered as Hieronymous looked at her with a hint of anger.

“Miss Astor, have you forgotten the basics of this world? You never, ever accept a gift from a magical being, even if it may be from someone you already know.” Hieronymous replied coldly as his magic broom swept the remains of the flower and put it into a small box. “That flower, _Miss Astor_ , was a tracking device.”

Evie looked at Hieronymous with half horror, half bewilderment on her face. “A tracking device? But why?”

Hieronymous sighed and put his hand over his temple. He motioned Petunia to continue. He didn’t react well to stupidity, and all students, including Evie, were stupid. Petunia smiled faintly and sat next to Evie, holding her hands as to console her.

“Evie, not all beings in this realm have good intentions. Mr Ramsey was one of those beings with ill-intentions. We don’t know exactly why, but we know that several students have been targeted by Mr Ramsey during his stay in this Academy. It seems like you were one of them, and the reason Hieronymous had to use his manus to bring you here was to protect you from those dark creatures you can see out yonder. They are the underlings of Mr Ramsey.” Petunia paused to let Evie process her words, before continuing. “You must promise me that if anyone else gives you anything _handmade_ in this Academy, that you will bring it straight to myself or Hieronymous. Do you understand?”

Evie nodded. She couldn’t process everything Potsdam was saying, but she vaguely remembered William’s warning about Damien. She couldn’t believe how stupid and naïve she had been. _The dream I just had… was it real?_ Evie’s mind drifted as she half-heartedly listened to Potsdam’s words.

“Miss Middleton has also returned to the Academy. Why don’t you go back to your dormitory and see if she is there? I’ll get Hieronymous to come and get you and Miss Middleton this evening to go to the Glen.” Petunia wearily smiled as she sent distracted Evie off.

As soon as Evie left the room, Petunia and Hieronymous collapsed on the couch. They stared at the small box for a while without saying a word.

“We will need to investigate this further.” Hieronymous said gruffly. “I apologise for letting this slip out of my radar. I should’ve kept a closer eye on Miss Astor.”

Petunia shook her head. “You couldn’t have known. Unfortunately, you know what this means, don’t you?” Petunia replied with a sigh. Hieronymous nodded.

“I will contact all first-year students immediately. Here. Take this box. We may need to keep this as a piece of evidence for the council of magic. I’ve also asked my father for a piece of advice, so I presume I will hear from him soon.” Hieronymous smiled with a pained look on his face. Today was going to be a long, long day.


End file.
